Flicker
by EcontraBlue
Summary: AU; Before coming to earth, the Decepticon warship Nemesis spent millennium in space facing trials of starvation, mutiny and uncertainty. There among the Decepticon elite and the last remnants of the army, Megatron and his future second-in-command, Starscream, form the lasting bonds that tie them together for better or worse.
1. Chapter 1: Flicker

Title: Flicker

Rating: M (Rated for: Violence, Sexual Situations, Death, Abuse)

Author: EcontraBlue

**_Author's Note:_**

**_This is a pre- Transformers Prime timeline. Much of the Cybertron lore and past hinted at in the TFP series are too fertile for me to resist. There are some alterations to the Aligned continuity using IDW and G1 for backstory but most of the primary characters will be from the TFP show. For more extended Notes please see the end of Chapter 1._**

**Summary:**

**Before coming to earth, the Decepticon warship Nemesis spent millennium in space facing trials of starvation, mutiny and uncertainty. There among the Decepticon elite and the last remnants of the army, Megatron and his future second-in-command, Starscream form the lasting bonds that tie them together for better or worse. **

_"Through your own interests you created this. You brought us here. You didn't just make it possible—you made it happen. All we did __was give it a name." -Starscream, Megatron's Origin_

* * *

The lights flickered.

It was a poor omen of the future to come on the mighty Nemesis- it had began to consume the last of its reservoirs.

Starscream knew that it would be followed by a summons to the bridge. He was becoming adept at forecasting Megatron's mood simply by feeling the small environmental changes in the Nemesis. For several orns now the remnants of the great Decepticon army had drifted in the last warship- badly damaged in the final confrontation with the Autobot forces. It had now limped to an almost dead stop, drifting along through deep space, its functions ceasing one by one. The Energon that had been hoarded for the final flight from their husk of a home planet had been severely depleted as well, after an exceptionally unlucky strike from the Ark as it was rent apart and flung through a space bridge.

'All officers report to the bridge.' Megatron's voice growled, the intercom functioning perfectly, even as the lights failed- casting the Nemesis into shadow.

Starscream dropped his long servos from the large pump feeding to the wheezing engine of the Nemesis and pulled his patch cord from the data feed by the monitoring systems. Several drones stood nearby, watching him like curious sparklings and waiting to continue their duties in the engine room after his departure. He paid them little notice, slinking past them and scowling to himself.

What did Lord Megatron expect? That the Nemesis would crash into an Energon-laden asteroid? Starscream muttered to himself in frustration as he hastened to make it to the bridge before the last of the other ranking Decepticons.

Now that the ship was running on empty and there were a good deal more officers on the vessel- Starscream was sure Megatron would find ways to extract energon if the raw mineral wasn't found. He needed to find a way to make himself invaluable and fast. In this case, his flashy personality could just put him at the front of the line of a mass compressor and energon extractor. He shivered at the thought.

He increased the speed to his steps and hurried past a crowd of curious Vehicon drones, who turned to stare at his retreating form. The bridge was a long walk from the engine room, but Starscream made it before some of the senior personnel- cutting in front of Hook, the ship's medical officer and his assistant, an over-polished red hot-rod of unimportant designation.

"-me to retrieve the Energon you require, my Lord." A loud voice boomed on the walkway of the bridge. "I shall fly around the solar systems nearby and return with more than enough fuel to hunt the accursed Autobots!"

Ramjet.

The over-sized white tetra jet was prostrating before Megatron, who stood, towering above all his officers- an omnipotent colossus of Decepticon might.

"No one else will be able to accomplish such a feat in time before the last of the Nemesis's reserves are depleted." Ramjet was very sure of his own speed and skill, but it was not a feeling that was shared. Judging by the look of utter disdain on Megatron's face, and the way Soundwave neglected to incline his head down to the hulking solider, Starscream guessed the two mechs thought Ramjet was only capable of finding Energon if he collided with it.

Ramjet seemed to sense this dismissal, but as with all things he continued to charge head forward. "I swear to you, my Lord—"

His bow became lower. "All I require is a carrier and some hand selected drones—the asteroid belt in the near-"

Megatron's lip curled and he growled, cutting off further assurances.

"I cannot find a reason to justify giving you command of a fleet after you lost your own trine in such a crude and worthless manner."

Ramjet flinched and began to withdraw, sensing defeat. "I—"

Starscream might feel pity for Ramjet- the loss of his own trine had been the worst experience of his life. It was a fresh and recent would that still seared in his psyche. He'd never known how attached he was to the two idiots that followed him around from nearly the onset of his onlining- until they had been snatched away by war. But Starscream at least had not been responsible for their deaths- they had been unable to escape the self-destruct unleashed on their home planet by the Autobots. Only Starscream, fleetest of the three, had survived.

Ramjet however, had carelessly flung himself at the Autobot flagship and gotten his wingmates caught in the crossfire. He had been a solider that had survived through sheer stubbornness and the thickness of his armor. That strategy however, was no longer relevant.

Ramjet looked exceedingly pathetic as he twisted around, looking for the support of wing-mates that no longer existed. "I can—"

His wide eyes, searching the crowd of officers for someone to vouch for his prowess, landed on Starscream's wings. They were the only fliers left on the warship.

Starscream twitched as he felt everyone else's gaze follow Ramjet's. Megatron stood impatiently- looking as though he was expecting Starscream's endorsement for Ramjet to be forthcoming.

We aren't in the same league, Starscream thought to himself. Ramjet is nothing but a flying tank. I am Command trine. I am a leader, a thinker. He slid his eyes away from Ramjet's hulking form and stepped forward, bowing slightly.

"Lord Megatron."

The former gladiator regarded Starscream with a raised brow ridge. "Starscream...where have you been skulking off to these past two cycles?" Despite Starscream reporting to their leader directly due to his scientific expertise and flying skills, the two had not spoken face-to-face for the past orn.

"The engines required my attention, my Lord." he began, walking around Ramjet and hiking his wings up high.

"If it pleases you," He gave another small bow and crossed between the Lord and the larger jet, "Might I suggest putting the Nemesis into orbit and allowing the ship to siphon solar energy into its reserves until the drones have finished repairing the damage done by the Ark's cannons. We cannot continue wandering around, hoping to run into random energon deposits- such an element is already rare outside of Cybertron."

Starscream ignored Ramjet's sputtering in protest and looked into Megatron's eyes.

The warlord narrowed his eyes, before a shark-like smile slowly curled to one side of his face. 'Wandering, Starscream?" he stepped around Ramjet, ignoring the large jet as the prostrated warrior stared at the two. "Are you implying that I have guided us to this location without purpose?"

Starscream tried to harden his reaction against the towering warlord, but it was difficult when the mech made the ground shake with each step as he approached.

"Of course not, my lord." He replied evenly, standing still as Megatron came within distance to grasp him, should he desire it. He hiked his wings up even higher.

"Do you think I've taken the Nemesis out this far into the galaxy for a jaunt, Starscream? That I've been merely guessing where to pilot our ship in the hopes to catch errant Autobots?"

It doesn't matter what you've brought us out here for, Starscream thought to himself. We're all so under-fueled we're as helpless as protoforms.

"Of course not, Master." He replied again, his tone flat with sarcasm. "I was merely recommending a course of action that would restore the basic functions to the Nemesis while Energon is unavailable."

Starscream heard a soft chuckle behind him, but he didn't dare to turn to face the anonymous mech responsible and show his back. Ramjet was rising behind Lord Megatron, staring at Starscream. Why was everyone always so shocked to see another mech offer an opinion to Megatron that didn't reflect his own? Were they all just waiting to see him torn apart by the sharp servos of the massive Decepticon leader?

Ah, yes he should have thought about that.

But the Decepticon Lord offered little more to Starscream than an enigmatic smile full of sharp edges.

"I see-" he walked around the slim jet. "You were an Energon Seeker before the war, weren't you? It's a compulsion then, to hoard and preserve as much as you can."

Starscream bristled at the mention of his former occupation, but didn't deny Megatron's words.

"According to the data feeds in the engine room," Starscream replied, turning to follow his Lord's gaze as the giant mech circled him. "The Nemesis only has a few more orns before it goes into emergency shut-down and we lose the capability to steer it out of the path of any sort of debris or planet we come across."

Megatron seemed to be completely unfazed by this statement. "That would be inconvenient indeed." He growled with the smile still on his face.

Starscream looked up at Megatron incredulously. The fact that his lord was so calm truly disturbed him.

"My lord-" Ramjet's voice cut between the look Starscream was cycling with Megatron with a loud outburst. "With so little time, only I can command a proper search party!"

Megatron raised a sharp brow in Ramjet's direction and the larger jet sank back, cowed by his lord.

"Starscream…." Megatron rumbled down at the sleeker grey flier.

"You are in charge of bringing the ship into full functionality." Megatron turned with one long searing look into Starscream's face.

And should you fail, the silence spoke as Megatron walked back to the command terminal, you will be the first I pitch off the ship to save fuel.

Starscream hadn't meant to volunteer himself in Ramjet's place- Energon _was_ something of a speciality for him- and no one else on the ship seemed to know as much or show the same enthusiasm for preserving it.

Should he fail…his outliving his trine would not last long. But should he succeed…

Starscream watched Megatron's massive back as it came to a halt in front of the command terminal- data feeds from all across the ship and the galaxy playing in front of him.

He could have a place there- at the head of the Nemesis. He could have Megatron's ear permanently.

His wings unconsciously twitched.

* * *

The most important thing to know when scouting for energon is to confirm your location. The Decepticon warship had been lost for sometime since jumping through a series of Space Bridges in an effort to pursue the Ark.

The Ark had been utterly destroyed, but so had all the existing spacebridges off of Cybertron. And that included the one around the Nemesis when it had been halfway through the portal. The Nemesis and her crew were flung across the galaxy and the Decepticons left were worried.

Their leader was really the one thing keeping them all from falling into pure panic. Megatron was a sentinel of cold, hardened determination and he had Soundwave piloting the Nemesis with maniacal precision towards…..something. Starscream was not privy to the Decepticon Lord's plans- a fact that maddened him. He had always been the decision maker within his elite squadron, and he had never failed Megatron- not once. Not personally.

Starscream had gone back to the engine room to run more precise tests before returning to the bridge. He hoped to find Soundwave alone, and he was not disappointed.

'Soundwave.' Starscream walked past the drones that were monitoring various ship routines and stood to the side of the silent mech.

'You…' Starscream felt at a loss, this was Megatron's favored- this silent, streamlined mech had never spoken to anyone- he wasn't sure how much Soundwave could even be trusted to assist him in anyway. No- he hardened his resolve. Soundwave had one key component to his reputation and that was a sycophantic devotion to Megatron. He would do whatever Megatron ordered.

'You know that I am in charge of obtaining new fuel reserves for the Nemesis.' He folded his arms behind his back and paced behind the silent Mech. He could tell that Soundwave was listening, even as his fingers and prehensile tentacles seemed very occupied. 'I need to know our location- as well as the location of all astral bodies within fuel range of here. I need them now.'

Soundwave continued to work, not pausing once to recognize his request. Starscream almost spluttered but bit back his temper. 'You know that I cannot proceed without the proper data, Soundwave. I understand Lord Megatron wants to keep our flight destination a secret, but he has assigned me a task that absolutely requires our location plotted out on the star grid.'

Soundwave continued to work in a feverish rhythm. Curse the mech to the Pits-Starscream could feel his systems heating up in anger.

'Soundwave,-' Starscream's long talons clenched. 'Did you not here me? I have-'

"You are in charge of bringing the ship into full functionality." Megatron's deep growl repeated back to Starscream as Soundwave turned ever so slightly to incline his head towards a now empty terminal. Starscream refreshed his optics and walked to it- observing a data feed ready and waiting for him. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Soundwave one more time. Megatron's shadow, indeed. Starscream wondered what else the slim mech recorded, besides his master's voice.

Starscream downloaded the datafeed from the terminal, only to find it heavily encrypted- with the corresponding codes attached. He took the package and made a quick retreat to the quarters he had claimed for himself in the higher levels of the Nemesis. While he was sure Soundwave could monitor him reviewing the files here, he was fairly certain no one else would know or care.

His quarters were equipped with a small console to work on, and he hastily cleared it of data pads, covering his berth.

Delicious information. Starscream began decoding the encryption eagerly. Finally, FINALLY he would know where they were. His chances of success were sky rocketing- even if the Decepticons fell upon each other, Starscream was certain of his own survival.

The star grid opened up for him and the flier immediately began logging the coordinates into his already substantial archives.

**You spent so much time in the stars that its clogged your processor.** Skywarp's mocking tone echoed in his own CPU.

'SOMEONE needs to remember where we are, or we'll just fly around aimlessly forever.' Starscream replied out loud. He honestly didn't care if someone overheard him. Let them think he was mad- it would behoove him to gain a reputation of instability now that he was lacking in wingmates.

Skywarp never understood the importance of bearings. He always rushed everywhere without knowing the destination or the obstacles in-between. He'd always been too lucky to care.

**You say that's why you have random star grids archived in your CPU, but we all know that its because you want to go back and try and find HIM**. Thundercracker's deep and quiet admonition made Starscream's wings hike up.

'You don't know what you're talking about! Don't you DARE bring that up right now- I'm trying to FOCUS.'

**Maybe if you had cleaned that cache and left more space for upgrades we'd have been prepared for the flight from Cybertron.** He continued, voicing Starscream's own guilty thoughts.

'NO,' he fought his own conscience, wrangling it into painful submission. 'I WAS prepared. It was your fault you couldn't make it. It was YOUR fault. And now I'm here in my room talking out loud, when I should be focusing on how to survive.'

The voices fell silent and he sighed.

He was beginning to run low on fuel- a small warning sending light pangs of pain along his sides.

He brought a taloned servo to his head. He would be okay- he just needed to concentrate.

Focus, focus- his processer was ripping through the encoding and the coordinates of the stellar systems were archiving into his already extensive maps.

Soundwave have really wrapped the package up tightly. And Starscream was beginning to see why.

They were nearing an Iaconian Repository. If it were loaded with the kind of technology that had been on hand during the war…there would be a wild scramble within the ranks to possess the most powerful weapons and tools. Megatron must be counting on there being Energon there- indeed there would have to be. There were security systems- back up sealing units; everything needed to keep Autobot and Senate secrets safe and secure from the Decepticon army.

Only now the Nemesis was knocking on their doorstep. Starscream's wings flattened.

There was an excited pulse running through his lines- Megatron trusted him. Allowed him access to this secret. He was one step closer to standing beside the head of the mighty Decepticon army.

A loud pounding on the door kept him from extracting the last encryptions.

Starscream hurried to close the Star Grid, concealing it just in time as Ramjet filled up the doorway and strode in. Oh, he was calm now that the enormous jet wasn't in the presence of Lord Megatron.

"Starscream." The jet began jovially. 'So, you're going to lead the retrieval efforts for Energon, are you? Finally I get to see what makes an Energon seeker so highly prized. "

Starscream snapped his talons together and turned to face Ramjet with his whole body. The large white jet was easily twice the mass of the sleeker, with heavy wings facing downwards instead of butterflied up, and a helm that was sharp and pointed at the tip. A symbol of pride as a soldier of Vos. His thin red eyes had a glint of anger and something else.

"I am merely trying to restore the Nemesis to a pilotable vessel, Ramjet." Starscream took a step back as the huge jet filled up his quarters.

"Huh, I'm sure. And whatever else you can grab up no doubt while you're at it." Ramjet looked around at the datapads and equipment in the room, obviously finding it dull.

He focused in on Starscream's face.

"You little parasite."

Starscream choked, feeling his temper rise. "How dare you?!" He could feel the words spilling from his lips. "I didn't here you offering any ideas besides going to fly out headfirst into an asteroid field!"

Ramjet took an angry step forward and Starscream flashed his talons at the large jet- his only melee weapon outside of opening fire on an opponent and menacingly long. Even the huge jet took a moment to observe them.

"This is MY specialty, Ramjet." Starscream tried to embolden himself with the thought of Megatron's endorsement. "I am the one who is most suited to retrieving Energon and you know it."

A twisted sneer stretched over the huge jet's face.

"Huh, you alone? Your skinny fingers? Doing work? Its not really your thing, is it? We both know what your REAL speciality is."

He took another step forward. Starscream suddenly felt a huge void where Skywarp and Thundercracker had been. They would never have allowed Ramjet to get so close to him- the three of them would have been able to easily outmatch even this hulking mech. But now…

He was alone.

His quarter's door snapped shut, closing the two off from any chance of a random drone interrupting them.

"What good are you without your squadron, Starscream." Ramjet echoed his own depressing thoughts. He clenched his armored fists and pressed even closer, Starscream could feel his wing tips scraping against the wall. "Your kind…you're barely seekers. Only good for sniffing up trouble. You're a Command trine too? So all you've ever done in your life is give out orders."

Ramjet laughed at the absurdity in his own mind. Starscream could feel his frame rattle in indignation and fury.

Isn't this a delightful trip down the sentimental and classist society we just overthrew? He thought to himself, frantically trying to think of ways to remove Ramjet from his room and still retain some dignity.

Ramjet paused and stared down at Starscream- his mouth was open- about to speak more garbage most likely, but thought seemed to have fried his processor.

Starscream stared back for a few brief moments. Ramjet's face wasn't angry anymore- it looked confused and frustrated.

"What are you…" Starscream twitched as Ramjet scratched his wings.

He felt his combat protocols flare to life just as the bulky mech grabbed his wings, gripping them tight and- and-

Ramjet started to croon. It was a deep and grating sound- reverberating against his smaller body.

Starscream squirmed in the large jet's grip before looking up, sullenly. Obviously the giant lug was unbalanced by the loss of his trine, but to be pawing at an entirely different class that he'd just be-smirched- because Starscream had wings? It was beyond pathetic. Starscream had conversations out loud with himself and rubbed his wings against his berth at night to mimic a familiar touch, but he didn't just go around grabbing people.

'Ramjeeeeet.' Starscream let out a warning hiss and the bulkier jet loomed closer- grinding against his cockpit and forcing him into the wall.

'If you are quite finished-'

'You're too small to be alone, Starscream.' Ramjet said suddenly. 'You're making a mistake- making him notice you like this.'

Starscream kicked out with a sharp pede, scratching the larger combat jet in the thigh with a sharp point.

'Small can be useful, Ramjet,' Starscream patronized the larger machine, even as he felt his spark whirling in panic—wasn't Soundwave monitoring all the officer's quarters? Would he just allow Ramjet to continue to take liberties like this? Was this a test of some kind? 'You see, as we are now on starvation rations I can tell you now that I will outlast you by at least a few hundred vorns- unless of course you downgrade quickly—aaughhhhhh'

Starscream groaned as Ramjet cornered him and began bending his wings in response to his sharp kick.

Protocols were beginning to alert in his field of vision, telling him that he was in the beginning of a Trining rite. Dominant leaders often bullied their counterparts into submission by bending their wings.

'You won't live that long if you don't get yourself protection.' Ramjet crooned again, his grip loosening to stroke Starscream's butterflied wings and soothe the bent marks.

'You're glitched—' he hissed, reaching casually to his console. He had left an electric prod there earlier- a memento from time spent interrogating Autobot prisoners. His snarl turned upwards quickly into a teasing smile.

'Is this your way of proposing to trine with me, Ramjet? Insulting me and manhandling me?'

The heavy let the statement sink in, eyes widening as he looked Starscream over from toe to finial and leaned in again, crooning deeper.

'We are the only fliers left-' he said, tilting his head at the sight of the narrow jet's slim waist, staring. 'You aren't good for much, but you look just fine. You can pay me back for protection by keeping our berth clean and grooming me when—'

He didn't finish the last sentence as Starscream powered the electric prod to full and brought it to Ramjet's cranial unit, watching the sparks fly. Even with a head as thick as his, Ramjet felt the full blast tear through his CPU and Starscream felt himself smirk as his competition slumped to the floor, offline. He was sorely tempted to take the electric prod to Ramjet's spark….but. He glared up at where he was certain Soundwave's surveillance system was located.

Megatron did not condone random killing in his forces. All executions were done by HIS hand alone. Starscream shivered at the thought of those huge, sharp digits tearing a chassis apart, rendering metal into ribbons and scrap in moments. He turned to his comm unit and called for drones, they were in his quarters in moments.

'Clean THAT up.' He commanded with a wave, turning from Ramjet's prone body and waiting for them to haul his body out.

When they left, he was alone again- to open the Star Grid and continue to gather his bearings- floating in the giant carcass of the warship that even now flickered between functionality and a floating tomb.

He tried to ignore the phantom sensations of the dents in his wings and how it had felt to be NEAR someone, even for a moment. Ramjet had been so much warmer than the rest of the room. No- he was Starscream. Humble Energon Seeker, turned Command Trine, turned scientist, turned elite flier for Lord Megatron. His life was an endless struggle to adapt and survive. He would...learn to cope without companionship and touch. Without Cybertron. Without a full tank.

He put his head in his talons and shuttered his optics.

Enough. Time to focus. He hadn't gotten this far just to be thrown to an energon extractor or starve. Yes, Energon. Such a simple word for so many varieties of concentrates- but they all served the simple function of fueling the spark and living metal. An Iacon Repository this far out- it would have to have an independant fuel source- with renewable potential. Likely there was a large deposit safeguarded away. Megatron would want that fuel source, undamaged of course. Iaconians were some of the most radical in opposing the Decepticon forces, and Starscream didn't put it past them to light up their own hope of survival for a chance to hinder their conquest.

His wings ached as he turned to his console and pulled up the quick building readings for the Iacon Repository. It looked like a standard fascility- but that caused more reason to be suspicious. It had a large docking bay- not standard. Also- there was that needle mounted on tower- some sort of communications enhancement, no doubt. All-in-all, little things that made Starscream quiver with paranoia and suspicion. There was something bothering him, right now.

Ah yes. His wings. They were really starting to ache. As much as he was loathe to allow himself contact with Hook and his pawing servos, he would need to be in the best shape to run a scouting mission over the repository before Megatron raided it. He pinged the revoltingly colored Doctor, who answered amiably.

'_Aren't your trinemates dead? I thought I'd see an end to bent wings now that there's only three of you fliers left.'_

'_Three?' _Starscream replied in an irritated tone. '_Excellent, I'm submitting myself to the mercies of a doctor who can't even count.' _

'_I forgot to introduce you to my assistant- a very lovely seeker by the name of Knock Out. He IS in transition to a racer-build, but he knows more about your frames than I ever will.' _Oh, Hook must have been referring to the red arm-candy that had been leaning on his larger frame during the bridge conference.

'_In transition means that they are no longer a seeker, Hook.'_ Starscream replied, his mood becoming fouler. Not that it wasn't uncommon, but he himself could never understand why anyone would want a different frame besides that of his own.

'_My apologies, Lieutenant. I'll ask Knock Out to straighten out your wings.'_ Hook was laughing at him now- having an assistant attend to him? Starscream was striding into the MedBay, a scowl on his face, ready to dress Hook down in front of all of his orderlies. Knock Out was leaning over a drone, finishing a metal transplant on it's leg.

Starscream was still angry, but his mood lessened at the sight of dozens of drones, all still in poor shape, waiting for repairs. The Nemesis had not yet recovered from the last battle and the signs were still there.

Knock Out was by his side almost immediately, the smaller arial sans-wings made a whistling noise at the sight of the larger flier's damages.

'Wow,' he said in a brazen tone, 'Those are something I wasn't expecting. Who's been courting YOU.'

Starscream wasn't sure how he felt about that question, so he chose to ignore it entirely and swipe at the wingless red medic.

'I have some important work to do, and I need these to be aligned and flight prepared immediately.'

Knock Out held up his slender hands in a pacifying way and guided Starscream to a berth. The sleek flyer lay down on his front, bent wings spread out for the medic to repair. Despite his earlier protests...the former seeker seemed to know where to touch his wings, and Starscream found himself drifting. The thin fingers were carefully and slowly adjusting the tender seams that Ramjet had wantonly bent. The dull pain was fading into a pleasent ache that spread over his core. There once had been a time, when touching wasn't a precurser to pain, and there had been a relative peace, when he could have gotten his wings soothed like this at any moment. He didn't remember much about it, but his body seemed to.

'So...' Knock Out sounded far too interested. 'Who put their servos on such lovely wings and twisted them all up?'

Starscream couldn't help but be pleased by the compliment, even if he knew that the red medic was just fishing for gossip.

'Ramjet.' He hissed lowly as a cool filler was slowly stroked into the smaller dents and allowed to dry. Oh, that was nice.

'Hm, really? That big brute? Well I can't say I'm surprised.' Knock Out was polishing and laying down a glaze that soaked the raw metal, his thin fingers working masterfully over Starscreams precise and delicate wings. 'He's been getting twitchy and aggressive for orns now.'

The medic paused to carefully re-align the deepest groove in his wings and he clenched his denta to keep from making a pained sound.

Knock Out patted the dent and continued. 'You aren't suffering from the same Trineless Neurosis, are you?'

'I'm not.' Starscream replied, mumbling, his processor slightly scrambled from fatigue and the wing stimulation he was enduring.

Knock Out laughed lowly. 'So you were the one who put a high powered shock-prod to his head as retaliation for the wing bending? You're a pretty classy catch, Lieutenant.'

'I'm not interested in BEING a catch. Or Trining.' Starscream replied, looking over his shoulder to the small red seeker reject, narrowing his red eyes.

The mech seemed oblivious, because he merely chuckled and continued. 'That's not what I hear. Rumor is that you have a marked interest in Lord Megatron's attention.'

'Are you INSANE?' Starscream was practically twisting over his torso to snarl at Knock Out.

The red bot held up his hands, in defense and also in deference. 'Its just a rumor, I wasn't implying anything by it, sir.'

'You could have fooled me...' The larger flyer finally lay back, mollified by Knock Out's display of submission. Knock Out did not attempt any further conversations, and finished sealing and buffing his wings in tidy order, which pleased him greatly. He rose shakily off of the berth and took a small cube of medical grade energon, which he realized on his way back to his quarters were not a complementary part of being attended to. Hm. Being friendly with a medic besides Hook could certainly have its advantages in the future. Starscream made a careful note not to tear into Knock Out, despite the red mech's insolent manner.

He was sitting and savoring his small energon ration, examining the Iacon Repository on his console when he was pinged by the Decepticon Lord himself. He nearly dropped his cube, but he responded in a hopefully even tone.

'_Yes, Master?_'

'_Come up to the Bridge immediately.'_ Megatron's tone didn't put much confidence in Starscream. In fact, his tank suddenly churned and he couldn't bring himself to finish the rest of his Energon. Perhaps the warlord wasn't pleased with Ramjet being rendered non-functional.

'_Yes, my Lord.'_ Starscream replied evenly, stowing the rest of his ration and rising. He shut off his console and code-encrypted the Star Charts. He stood and walked from his quarters, feeling the door whooshing shut behind his newly-repaired wings, a small parody of the past cycles of his life, of Cybertron and the War, all gone, replaced by an uncertain and dark path.

End Chapter One

* * *

_AN: As I said earlier- this story is being written largely to fill in the holes regarding the Decepticons and their lives before arriving on earth and the events that transpire on the Nemesis. It is largely based on loose implications within the show itself and then some fanon interpretations. I hope to continue this story for another 9 chapters. Based on how I feel, there may be a sequel. _

_I would really appreciate feedback, since this is one of my first stories regarding this fandom and it will really help me in my characterizations of the 'Cons and their rather dangerous hijinx. _

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2: Dark Path

**Title: Flicker**

**Rating: M (Rated for: Violence, Sexual Situations, Death, Abuse)**

**Author: EcontraBlue**

**Author's Note:**

**This is a pre- Transformers Prime timeline. Much of the Cybertron lore and past hinted at in the TFP series are too fertile for me to resist. There are some alterations to the Aligned continuity using IDW and G1 for backstory but most of the primary characters will be from the TFP show. See more notes at the bottom.**

**Summary:**

**Before coming to earth, the Decepticon warship Nemesis spent millennium in space facing trials of starvation, mutiny and uncertainty. There among the Decepticon elite and the last remnants of the army, Megatron and his future second-in-command, Starscream form the lasting bonds that tie them together for better or worse.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Dark Path

Flashback:

Lithe forms shot across the hot thermals of the volcanic vents of Luna 2. A team of seekers, led by a light tetra jet, split apart and flew in spiralling formation, spreading out like a controlled explosion.

The leader spun, hugging tight to a volcanic ridge, replaying the last moments he and his trine had been on Cybertron.

_Commander Starscream?_

_Yes, Enforcer Springarm, Enforcer Wheelarc?_

_You and your trine are being re-commissioned for service on Luna-2._

_What?_

_I realize that you were not informed, which is why I came personally to deliver you this news._

_But we already met our quota! We only just got back!_

_I understand that you are upset. However, there were circumstances beyond our control._

_B-But we only just finished with our repairs._

_Personal sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, Commander. You're the only unit back and functional- we had no other options._

_This is some kind of joke! I REFUSE! Tell your prime if he wants so much energon he can go heave around in space himself. I'm not some miner that can just be ord-HRGHN-_

_Starscream! Star-_

_Everyone calm down. We are escorting you and your Commander back to a transport heading to Luna-2. This is not a discussion, it is an order. Please form a line and begin your departure protocols._

Starscream sliced at the air with his talons and felt a strong pain of hunger as a reward for his erratic motions. HUD warnings were flashing in his peripheral vision, warning him that the integrity of his wings and outer armor were beginning to corrupt due to lack of energon. It had been 3 miserable vorns on Cybertron's second moon, searching like rogue scraplets for even the smallest deposit of energon. They were all running ragged and desperation was beginning to wear even at his trine bonds.

'Skywarp, Thundercracker. Report.' Starscream stood on the volcanic peak, the fumes from the moon's dark craters making his vents work harder to keep his intakes from clogging. From his vantage point he could detect any energon nearby, the sensors in his helm and long forearms searching desperately for the fuel he and his squadron needed.

'Nothing.' Thundercracker's voice was low and smooth but his signal was fading due to fatigue. 'This place truly is a desert. I don't know what they were expecting when they sent us out here.'

'Uh, I can fill that unknown for you.' Skywarp's tone was less even and he growled. 'They wanted us to go out here and DIE. One less squadron of seekers to feed. There's nothing out here, Scream.'

Starscream lacked the energy to correct his lackey in regards to his nickname. There was a small wave of...warm energy, just a soft brush against his right servo, and he cocked his head. Of all his squadron, Starscream was the most sensitive to the resonance of crystallized Energon in its natural state. It had made him a prized mech despite his eccentric and sometimes grating personality for the past few millennia.

'Rendezvous back at camp, I am going to make a flyby. Check the other trines for leads and isolate the ones going into stasis.'

'Yes Commander.' Thundercracker replied, and Skywarp made an exhausted noise of assent.

Starscream took to a thermal caused by the heat escaping from the volcanic vents and allowed his sensors to extend his EM field. He fell into a semi-state of trance and drifted, trying to feel that little wave of energy. As his body fell into its most efficient mode of flight, his mind began to wander as well.

Skywarp was right. His Squadron and several others had been sent out to remote and barren areas in an attempt by the Senate to procure any reserves of Energon that might be hidden.

But they had also been sent because there were riots and shortages in every city on Cybertron. Their planet was dying. There wasn't enough to support the masses of mechs that all lived on its surface and the ones who still had power were squeezing their chokehold as tight as possible to prevent all out anarchy.

There was a veneer of opulence that fooled the common citizen, but underneath it was all rust. The Senate, the Enforcers, the Iaconian Elite and their promises of order and peace at all costs. All rust painted over with a glossy finish.

Starscream and his squadron had been deployed to the second moon that circled Cybertron. Once a fertile source of crystallized Energon, back even before the Golden Age- it had already been depleted thousands of vorns ago- hollowed out by massive miners whose build type was no longer found even in the database of Vector Sigma itself. But there will still blips of deposits scattered around the husk- small veins of crystal not worth those legendary machine's time. The squadrons of desperate Energon Seekers who came back empty-handed were slapped with demotions and most eventually were...reassigned a new model or disappeared entirely.

This couldn't go on much longer. Starscream ground his denta at the idea of finding Energon only to hand it over to government and its puppet Sentinel Prime. He and his squadron did all of the work and received only a minor stipend for their starvation and scouting. It couldn't keep happening. Starscream had been searching now, not only for Energon, but for an escape. He knew that there were people who would pay for raw Energon- but to go AWOL and take such a thing with him- it would be an end to his credibility in the current establishment.

The swell of energy was almost palpable to his starving frame and Starscream let the sensation wash over him. He knew he was getting closer to the source.

He needed to think of a solution- he had always been lucky with finding enough Energon to come back home- but now his success was coming back to haunt him. The officials were setting higher and higher quotas for his squadron. It wasn't fair! It wasn't just that they had all been leashed into this slavery. He had never wanted to be an Energon seeker. Despite his model class, he had always felt more inclined to pursue exploration and engineering- not the most base element that powered it. Now the chance to pursue his career as a scientist was halted by accidental tragedy but also by Cybertronian culture itself. Why did he have to starve on Luna 2 just to power undeserving mechs off his own discoveries?

He hadn't shared it with his trine brothers, but lately Starscream had been spending a lot of time venting his frustrations- watching the illegal and controversial political feeds and matches of the activist and gladiator, Megatronus. The mech was right about everything. He knew more than any of the polished high-caste who all looked at Starscream with their soft blue eyes and blunt fingers. Megatronus, it was rumored and certainly reflected in his build, had been a miner on Luna 2. One of the last of his class, now obsolete and put to use for entertainment. He had been forced to fight in the Pits of Kaon, and his hatred for the upperclass drew the put upon and the starving like iron to a ferromagnet. He was well-spoken and he had a viciousness that made Starscream want to sing his quotes to the overseers that he reported to after every mission. And it was so satisfying to see him beat all of the Iaconian 'Champions' into paste in the ring.

That was a mech that deserved the energon he was finding more than the Senate and their cronies in Iacon. His answers were brutal, passionate, and true.

There. He felt the source of the energy. It was rooted inside a sheer cliff wall. He circled, gliding without his engines firing, transforming and landing on his heeled feet, the points digging into the rock, his claws burying in, easily holding his light form. Wind was picking up, but he barely felt it as it whipped by. His free hand sliced at the rock and pulled huge chunks from the cliff wall, until he had a tentative perch to continue his task. His claws were quite skilled at clearing rock and debris, deftly working into faults and scattering useless mineral.

The tips of his talons hit a huge blue vein a few minutes in and Starscream's face lit with joy. The more he dug, the more seemed to appear. Chips flew into the wind and he burrowed deeper. He laughed as he commed his Trinemates. 'At last,' he crowed, 'I found our ticket out of here- it only took 3 vorns with you fools.'

'Yay, we can have berths.' came Skywarp's tired but happy reply. 'And I don't ever want to see Luna 2 again.'

'How big is it, Commander?' Thundercracker's coarse voice asked. 'Is it really enough to meet quota?'

'Its enough.' Starscream replied. 'Shame that it should go for someone so undeserving as our esteemed Sentinel Prime.'

'S-Starscream, our comms could be monitored.' Thundercracker's hoarse voice picked up a nervous tone.

'Oh, yes, I'm sure they're monitoring all the seeker squadrons on this husk of a planet to make sure they're okay.' Starscream cooed sarcastically through his comm feed. 'Face it- we were dumped here to DIE- they've put collars on us that are so tight that we're starving- my wings are deteriorating!' He twitched them unconsciously to emphasize their condition.

'Scream.' Skywarp's voice picked up a higher tone as well, but unlike Thundercracker, he sounded gleefully excited. 'Are we going to finally go AWOL?'

'Yes...' Starscream replied, and winced at the sound of his two trinemates squawking at the same time through the comm feed. 'QUIET both of you. I have plans for this Energon, and they don't involve Sentinel Prime. There's only one mech we're giving this fuel to.

'Us?' Skywarp asked vapidly.

'Megatronus, fool.' Starscream replied to them, a smile creeping against his face. It was no secret that the gladiator was beginning to amass a following that would be hungry for rations that had been cut off by the Enforcers out of fear of an uprising. Such a gift would place him firmly on the warriors radar and award him a position in the upper ranks of the revolution.

He was no longer a puppet of the Cybertronian Elite. Starscream would always cut his strings- he was a seeker and they could only be contained by their own flight parameters.

* * *

WARRANT 02451:

Designation: Starscream (Alias; Starrisec, Nightscream)

Type/Class: Seeker/Command

Function: Energon Exploration and Analyst

Iacon, Senate Court for Major Crimes;

Enforcers Prowl and Red Alert do hereby swear that on the stellar date 009745, Energon Seeker Commander Starscream did willfully cause the death of Captain Powerglide and his crew (*see full list of deceased in addendum), stealing their energon refining shuttle and posing as the deceased in re-entry to Cybertron. The bodies of the deceased have not been located, however their spark signatures are no longer active in Teletrann-1's database, and as their Enforcer trackers were placed within the spark case, this is reason enough to assume deactivation. Besides the willful murder of Officers of Iacon, it is believed that Commander Starscream has stolen 4800 units of pure unrefined energon from the mining site that he lured Captain Powerglide's refining unit to.

Orders: Capture, do not kill.

Sentence: Upon capture, Starscream and his unit are sentenced to 50,000 vorns of spark separation and dismantling. Deactivate only under extreme circumstances.

Notes: Starscream travels with his trine, designations Thundercracker and Skywarp. See separate warrants attached. These seekers are military type level 03, they are considered armed and dangerous. Proceed with caution.

Signed,

Ultra Magnus,

Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord.

* * *

Location: The Nemesis.

The path to the bridge was always well marked and Starscream could feel the choking presence of Megatron all around him. He arrived at the doors and was pinged in by Soundwave, who stood with his back to Starscream, occupied with trajectory routes and rationing inventories.

Megatron was at the end of the command center, standing at the edge and watching the open emptiness of space. Besides Soundwave, they were alone.

Starscream took a few hesitant steps, his thin pedes clicking on the metal floor. Megatron made a small motion that showed that he knew Starscream was there, he was merely waiting for the smaller mech to approach him. The flier straightened his back and walked towards the enormous warlord.

Even after all the vorns that Starscream had directly and indirectly reported to Megatron, the silver titan's moods were unpredictable and he needed all his powers of observation to judge them. That mercurial nature had served him well in the Pit and on the battlefield but as a leader it set his officers on edge and made the entire ship tense.

Don't let him actually care about Ramjet and hold his fried processor against me.

Starscream came within grabbing reach of his Lord, passing by Soundwave without knowing how to salute or address him.

'Master.'' he braced himself, claws twitching with nervous energy, 'You called for me?'

'Yes.' Megatron replied, finally acknowledging the seeker behind him. 'Starscream.'

He turned, his spiked shoulders as broad as Starscream's wingspan, red eyes narrowing to predatory slits.

'The data file Soundwave provided you with- I am curious about your thoughts.' He was studying the smaller flier intently, a look of amusement crossing his faceplates. 'Since it is now your responsibility.'

'Ah...' Starscream's wings reacted at the sight of the Decepticon Lord, stretching to match the warlord's girth. 'You mean the Repository? It has all the signs of a ruse- I will need to see more detailed layouts or have some surveillance done personally before I can tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear, however.'

'What do you think I want to hear?' Megatron's head cocked, his eyes narrowing.

Starscream couldn't contain some relief that this meeting was unrelated to his recent clash with Ramjet. It appeared he was in no trouble for defending himself- he knew Soundwave would have reported it and Megatron treated him no different. Perhaps he knew the leader's disposition better than he had hoped.

'That I will know how to keep the Iaconian rebels from blowing their relics and energon away before we can get our hands on them. That I will crush the Autobot elite and all those who harbor them and plunder this last safehold for you. That I shall restore our communications so that we can again reach Cybertron and begin our safe return.' He met those narrowed red eyes with his own, wings arched and spread.

'Ah, Starscream. The things you say.' Megatron stepped forward and Starscream carefully serpentined around his Lord as the titan moved to open the large data console at the end of the bridge. 'That IS what I want to hear, but words are meaningless without action. A nice bit of poetry and no substance.'

'Of course, Master. It is in my plans to take surveillance of the area- myself.'

'Alone?' Megatron glanced down at the smaller flier, and Starscream felt his body tucking in on itself a fraction. Even now, the mech intimidated him with a look and his mere physical presence.

'Ah.' He clicked his talons together. 'It would be best, for a single, swift unit to be the one to collect information- and since I am in charge of the operation, I am-'

'No.' Megatron cut him off. 'You and I will go together.'

He crowded in on Starscream, lowering his face to the flier. 'You will escort me to the perimeter and we will continue on foot. I want to see how Commander Starscream wears his new title.'

Starscream could only swallow and nod. 'Yes, of course, Master.' Commander, Commander, Commander!

This was really happening! Megatron was finally beginning to see Starscream's potential- it had only taken Shockwave's absence from the high-command to open up space for the seeker.

The titan strode past him, not turning to address Soundwave. 'Watch the bridge in my absence- Starscream and I will be departing from the rear hanger.'

The dark mech made no motion of acknowledgement, but Megatron walked from the command center without another word, leaving Starscream scurrying to catch up with his long strides.

The Decepticon Warlord made the hallways thunder with his heavy footsteps, and many of the surviving crew peered curiously at them from the medbay and cantina and domiciles, watching their Master and the sleek seeker behind him. Starscream was fanning his wings with no small amount of pride at walking so close to Megatron, almost at his SIDE and alone as well. He felt excitement coursing through his lines and apprehension.

Lord Megatron never went alone on missions with anyone but Soundwave.

When they reached the hangar, Vehicon drones carefully maneuvered the damaged doors open and Megatron transformed in powerful whirl of silver metal and a boom of his engines- assuming the Valkyrie-class flyer form that he had scanned later in the war. He soared out in open space and arced with crackling precision around to circle the Nemesis. Starscream watched him for a moment, his natural instincts taking a moment to appreciate how well a non-native airborne took to the sky and then ran off the hanger, opening his servos and transforming mid-air into his tetra-jet form. They met halfway around the ship and Starscream danced around the warlord, taking a natural position at his wing and feeling his programming sing to be near another flier again. They circled the ship once and then sped out, maneuvering with no small skill through the asteroid field between them and the small moon that the Iacon Repository was hidden on.

They both allowed their inertia to carry them, weaving in and out of the asteroids, both silver forms skilled and dancing back and forth, crossing paths and pulling away. Starscream felt that this was a test and that he was doing well when Megatron's EM field swelled and pulled at him when he came near. He responded and received neither acknowledgement or punishment.

They landed carefully outside of the projected Iacon surveillance area and both transformed. Starscream carefully allowed the sensornet in the alloy of his forearms and helm to heighten and begin their initial scans of the area, immediately feeling the pull of energon ahead. He took a few small steps forward, feeling Megatron's narrowed eyes studying him.

'Energon, my lord. The Iacon Repository must have a good deal for me to feel it from so far.'

Megatron said nothing, which unnerved Starscream and he hurried forward, walking in the direction of the Autobot base. He began to speak aloud, throwing out bits of thought in order to get a gauge on the eerily silent warlord.

'From my observation, there was little to no means for simple docking here, an aberration from the traditional plans. Which would mean that either the majority of its personnel are in stasis or that the majority have LEFT, likely in an effort to support the war.' Starscream turned back and scoffed. 'Which means this area could very well be abandoned but for a few drones.' He flexed his claws.

'I can't say for certain- but the rough images looked as though it was totally unarmed.'

'They will be no match for our forces- even in light of our recent lack of fuel.'

Megatron's scowled deep, sharp denta bared. Starscream shifted, realizing that Megatron was distracted by the view of the Repository towers ahead. His face seemed suddenly different- a mask of anger and hate- Starscream had seen it before, in the Gladiatorial arena. It was a sign that Megatron was preparing to do some great harm to those around him, closing himself off from empathy. He stepped out of the silver titan's way then, and allowed Megatron to seethe. Knowing the old mech, he was re-living a particularly gruesome memory from before on Cybertron.

'I have scoured the galaxy for eons in hope of finding this place.' his voice seemed softer than usual, hoarse when it wasn't used for roaring. 'You are correct- it is not ordinary outpost on the edge of existence. No.'

'Optimus Prime...' the growl that came out of Megatron sounded like a wounded mech, an anger so hot that it burned from the inside. 'I am sure that he hid Alpha Trion here.'

'You knew what this place was all along?' Starscream couldn't keep the annoyance from his tone. 'Why have you been subjecting me to all these useless tests then? I would have thought my service these past vorns was proof enough that I'm no fool.'

Megatron looked down at him sharply, jarred from his quiet rage.

'Because I wish to see how you function without a trine. You fliers are all different- Soundwave flourishes without being bonded to anyone-'

Ha! Starscream nearly burst out a laugh but kept it in. Any fool could see how Soundwave doted on his Lord.

'-while Ramjet' Starscream's good humor faded at the name '...languishes.'

'While this is hardly the place to discuss such things,' Starscream hissed, wings flaring with annoyance, 'I am capable of surviving without my wingmates and yes, its true, I was the brains behind our trine- that should hardly come as a surprise.'

The warlord's optics's flashed.

For a moment, Starscream was sure he would be struck by Megatron and he flinched. When he regained himself and looked up, the larger mech was smirking down at him. He leaned down to crowd the seeker. With his sensornet open, Starscream could feel the hot energon coursing through his Lord.

'Afraid that I will beat you into stasis, Starscream?' his vents ran hot and his massive claws gripped a wing, holding it firm but not bending it like Ramjet had.

'Yes..' he replied, feeling Megatron flex his wing slowly in his claws.

'You said that you know what I want to hear- so you surely know what I DON'T want to hear. And yet you say it anyway.'

Starscream shuttered his optics.

'Y-yes, I apologize, I was-'

The servo on his wing tightened and he squawked, stopping. Megatron was studying him, his attention focused and opaque. He couldn't read the warlord exactly, but he didn't seem angry.

For once in his life, Starscream was able to keep his mouth shut. It wasn't the time or the place, but there had never really been an appropriate point in the war for this strange moment.

Megatron held his wing, watching his potential Commander. His claws ran down the ridge of his wing, examining the appendage, before releasing him without a scratch. They separated and Starscream was waiting for the warlord to speak when they were interrupted by a flash of white and red in their peripheral vision.

It was Ramjet. Ramjet and a squad of Eradicons drones- flouting Megatron's orders and flying straight for the Iacon Repository!

'What is that fool DOING?!' Starscream shrieked. 'He'll alert the entire Autobot base!'

'No! How did he escape the Nemesis?' Megatron roared, his body seizing in rage, 'That worthless-Soundwave!'

Megatron transformed as he roared commands to his communications officer.

'Use the remaining energon to position the Nemesis as a barrier- we cannot allow anyone to escape! Ramjet is enroute to the Repository!'

Even from so far away, Starscream could hear Ramjet's unbalanced warcry. He started at his Master screaming away, intending to intercept and possibly kill the other seeker as defense drones began spilling from the Autobot base, engaging the airborne Decepticons in battle.

He should join his Master in battle. It was what any Commander would do, fly at his wing and protect him from harm. The air looked positively buzzing with laser fire, bouncing off of Megatron's sturdy armor. It would not do the same to him.

Starscream raced forwards on foot- despite his instincts to take flight, it seemed as though the defense grid was only reacting to Ramjet and his enraged master and the poor Eradicons following them. He ran along a ridge, feeding commands into a buzzing network of panicked Eradicon drones. They were untrained and relying on their most basic battle programming. Within moments, there were a dozen circling above him, drawing fire from hidden turrets on the ground. They scattered and dispersed, drawing attention with their agonized screams.

Starscream swiped at the first turrets he crossed, destroying them with his claws in easy succession, but he quickly tired of the task and took to running along the thin network, finding a hole in the defenses.

He wasn't a racer, but his long legs carried him quickly to a side entrance where he made short work of surveillance cameras and light turrets. The doors seemed sturdier though, and he hopped back several steps before straightening his arms and levelling the high-powered explosive missiles that he had long-ago mounted on his forearms. Megatron had the spark and the fusion reactor to power his cannon- but Starscream couldn't carry such things on his slender form, so portable tracking missles were the next best option. He released both at the reinforced door and it came clear off its hinges. Alerts were already sounding because of Ramjet and the now approaching Decepticon fleet.

He slunk into the emergency lit hallway and was greeted by mostly silence, save for the sounds of explosions from outside. He adjusted his optics quickly to the dark and hunched down to protect his abdomen, creeping along the narrow route silently, watching for more defence turrets.

There were none. And whoever occupied this outpost wasn't a warbuild- the hallway came close to scraping Starscream's head and his wings had to bend back and downward to fit into the tight area. Two-wheelers and the smaller racer builds were the only ones who would fit comfortably through these areas- Megatron and Ramjet would be completely hindered by their mass. But Starscream was slender and flexible, and on all fours with his claws clicking on the metal floor, he slid along the winding corridor, smirking at the clever but inevitably futile attempt by the Autobots to foil their more often larger counterparts.

The hallway must have been a repair entrance, because it was sparsely guarded and led directly to an atrium that was silent, lit by the swirling green of an active bridge, a large form standing before it.

An active bridge! The Autobots were secreting away all of their relics and records right under Megatron's nose. Starscream silently pulled from the corridor, aware of three Autobots below. Two were of racer build, looking desperately at the green gateway as a much taller, sturdily built Autobot between them spoke calmly.

'That is the last of them then- now all that is left to do is send out the final key.'

Starscream recognized the voice from news feeds lifetimes ago. Once, he had respected Alpha Trion and his work as much as every Cybertronian. Now, he was more aware, he had seen the philosophies of the ancient mech used to pacify the masses and keep them in their place- and the great relics that the supposed wise elder had archived kept from their true purpose of relieving the great burden of suffering.

The ancient one was very tall, and covered in flowing robes. He was leaning forward to ease the fears of the smaller white and blue racer beside him, guiding it to the door behind the open bridge.

'What about you, Alpha? You have to get out of here! If they take you prisoner-'

'Now now, Smokescreen.' Alpha Trion was opening the door at the back of the atrium, his large servo on the much smaller racer. 'I will not allow that to pass. Come, there is one last thing I must do.'

'Moonracer,' he called back. 'I leave the rest to you.'

The lone racer left in the atrium saluted, and began to input an override sequence into the bridge- obviously intending on making it backlash and self-destruct.

Scrap! Starscream swore to himself, crawling along the upper awning. He had to keep that bridge structurally intact.

He was preparing to pounce, not sure how capable this green racer was in combat, but using the advantage of surprise- when the main doors to the atrium suddenly reverberated and bent inwards. Another loud boom echoed in the chamber, and boxes of supplies began to topple. It was Lord Megatron- he had already broken through the parameter. Starscream began to straighten when a familiar white conehead blasted through the main walls.

Ramjet's eyes were crazed as he blocked the panicked firing from the racer. He pulled through the torn entrance- covered in scorch wounds from laser fire- one of his wings missing entirely and his mouth foaming from the onset of energon-deprivation. He let out a roar of pain as one of the racer's shots caught him right below his optic, shattering the lens and spurting blue energon across the floor.

'You fragging service drone-' his strangled cry was the only signal to his charge as he lept at the racer who deftly stepped out of the way.

Starscream could see now that the green Autobot was a femme, and very well trained in hand-to-hand combat. A seasoned guard staking everything in protecting the increasingly unstable bridge. She would fight off as long as possible until the explosion took out the entire atrium.

Without an optic and dropping further into an instinctual madness, Ramjet was heaving and snarling energon all over the floor as he swiped and batted at the Autobot guard. She quickly disarmed his last working blaster and was swiping at his armored legs, going for the cables that would cripple him.

He was stubbornly snarling and chasing her at a slow gait- a massive predator weakening before a cunning one. Starscream prowled above them, tracking their progress and waiting for the right moment to strike. Ramjet over-extended and stumbled, a moan of pain slipping from his lips, followed by a scream as the Autobot struck, slicing the cables to his thrusters and leg- another spurt of energon jetting over the atrium floor and the heavy jet fell, writhing but now unable to get up.

'Kill you-kill you- kill youuuuuuuuuuu-' he snarled and bit at the open air. The Autobot femme stepped back, levelling her blaster.

'Till all are one, 'Con.' she spoke in a dark, even tone. As she prepared to knock Ramjet offline, Starscream saw his opening.

His claws were harder than her armor- she only had a moment to see his shadow and feel the pain of being penetrated by the talon blades. She let out a small, soft sound and he felt her spark around his digits, throbbing then fading- the light going out of her eyes. She went limp on his long claws and he wiggled them to ensure her demise before pulling them out. She fell to the ground in a lifeless heap, another 'Bot for the scrapyard. Starscream ignored Ramjet and ran to the bridge- which was close to the point of no return, green lightning arcing upwards in a cascade of energy. Starscream had no doubt that the override codes would be impossible to crack in the time he had, but he hadn't spent most of his life as an explorer and engineer for nothing. The energy grid for a bridge was no different for either side- and he was at the hard-wired terminal- switching and rerouting sub-routines and energy paths, flushing the excess into the control grid- causing the panel to explode in quick succession. Without the codes to control the bridge, it fell into its hardcoded programming and shut down- the swirling green portal closing.

It wasn't good- but given the circumstances it was better than a blown up repository. At least now there was a chance of using the console and tracking the previous launches.

Starscream knew that alone wouldn't satisfy Megatron, and he turned to face the helpless jet sprawled out on the floor.

Ramjet was looking at him with his remaining pained optic, leaking his remaining energon everywhere.

'You...came for...me?' he sputtered.

'You've let energon loss damage your processor, Ramjet.' Starscream replied, kicking the Autobot guard's frame to the side and stalking towards the larger jet.

'You defied Megatron and his orders.' he hunched forward, gauging Ramjet's remaining strength with practiced optics.

'Was...going to bring...energon...as...penance.' Ramjet rolled slightly to focus on Starscream. He was reaching for his thin pedes, large clawed hand scraping on the ground.

Starscream stepped around it, circling.

'You're incredible.' he laughed at the cone-headed jet, 'You know very well that the energon would be obtained with or without you- you simply couldn't stand the idea that Megatron has lost interest in your stubborn, hardheaded ways.'

He circled in closer, tracking how slowly Ramjet reacted to his movements.

'You have no trine anymore to cover you and you've allowed yourself to be beaten by a simple Autobot guard. Your tactics only work when you command a large metal shield made from the backs of your comrades.'

Starscream closed in then, listening to Ramjet's small protesting wheezes, kicking the jet hard and rolling him onto his back. The heavy flier wailed in pain and lashed out randomly but fell back almost instantly from exhaustion. His remaining optic focused on Starscream for the first time with something resembling terror and disbelief.

'D-don't, Starscream- don't, I will serve you- I will obey, I-I-I It was the Trine madness, I-please!'

Starscream's stained talons lifted to kill for a second time a very short span.

'Don't! Please!'

Again, the claws tore through through armoring- Ramjet was much more heavy-duty than the Autobot, so Starscream had to hold the massive flier down by settling on him and jabbing several times, using the sharp tips to tear deep into his armored cockpit. The wounded flier tried to buck Starscream, but even though he was smaller, he could easily pin him in this weakened state. Energon spurted from the pumps around his spark casing, and Ramjet let out one last whimper of fear and pain before Starscream leaned in, basked in the sensation of such power over a mightier foe and then lanced through the delicate spark casing with his fingertips.

Ramjet shuddered, then fell still- his frame cooling as the spark plasma sputtered out and coated Starscream's fingertips.

The small, sleek flier sighed, resting on the graying form for a moment, before rising at the sounds of more explosions from the torn doorway. Megatron would come soon- and he would not be pleased by the loss of the bridge.

And Alpha Trion. Starscream turned and jogged lightly to the doorway that the huge mech had gone through. Whatever the elder was doing in there- it couldn't be something Megatron would like either. He tried to comm his Master, meeting with scrambling from the defense system from within the Repository.

As if summoning him through thought alone, an enraged and fearsome form blocked out the hole that Ramjet had punched through the main doorway, and Starscream had to catch himself as a powerful blast launched the remaining doors off. Megatron strode in, his front splattered with Energon- a swarm of Eradicons following him- spreading out. His eyes quickly took in the dead guard, the powered off bridge, and the mangled form of Ramjet. He looked curiously at that for a few moments, before catching Starscream's small motions in the corner of the atrium.

His eyebrows raised in surprise as he took in Starscream's similarly energon-coated form, a small grin forming as he strode forward.

'Search for any Autobot survivors!' he roared at the Eradicons that were gawking, pointing at the other small repair hallways in the upper levels. Starscream called out to Megatron, rushing to meet him.

'My lord-' he called out, 'Alpha Trion is here!' before he could point to the doorway, he was met with a sharp cuff to his head that sent his processor reeling.

'Starscream!' Megatron barked angrily, 'You DARED to run off without my consent- without any indication of your intentions!'

The flier shook his head in an effort to clear the static in it from such a powerful blow. He tasted some Energon and felt a small dribble escape from his lips.

'I-Forgive me my Lord. I saw an opportunity and I struck before notifying you.' He gripped his aching processor and rubbed it.

Megatron grabbed his wing, his claws less careful this time- the large mech was hardwired for battle now, eyes wide.

'Did you say Alpha Trion?'

'Yes!' Starscream nearly howled, still in pain and eager to focus Megatron's attention's somewhere else. 'He's locked himself and a guard inside to finish some sort of procedure.'

It was as effective as if Optimus Prime himself had stepped into the room. Starscream's wing was released and Megatron was roaring orders again, his claws furiously scraping at the door and walls, before the hum of a fusion-powered blast filled the room. One charged hit was all it took- and the wall caved and the great snarling titan strode through.

Curiosity kept him from staying back, and Starscream krept behind the Eradicons to see Megatron beating the revered Alpha Trion badly- his massive fists ripping off those robes that only the Elite had ever been allowed to wear- tearing into metal and laughing cruelly.

'Get up, relic.' Megatron's growls made the Eradicon's around him step back, giving the two room.

The old mech's intakes struggled with the damage delt so quickly- obviously not accustomed to combat. His eyes, despite Megatron's taunts, were focussed on the offline frame of the white racer he had left with earlier.

The Decepticon Lord did not take to being ignored well and he gripped Alpha Trion's head in his servo, lifting him by it.

'I am going to throw your head at Prime's feet, so that I can see the look of hopeless despair at the sight of your defiled body.' his words were spat with hatred and Alpha turned his soft blue eyes upwards, regarding Megatron sadly.

'No pain you inflict upon me will be greater than the blow you rendered when you took your first steps towards this bloody path, Megatronus.' He offered no resistance to Megatron's grip, and submissively allowed himself to be raised up, until he was dangling in the warlords servo. 'Optimus Prime will always have hope, even in the darkest hour, not only for the future of Cybertron, but also for your spark.'

'I would have thought' Megatron barked out a short laugh, 'That a supposed elder such as yourself would have better prepared words for his last moments. You sound like every other brainwashed Enforcer I've crushed.'

Alpha Trion reached up feebly to touch the servo that was gripping his processor.

'I speak only the truth as I see it in my own spark, Megatronus.' he wheezed, vents hitching. 'Orion Pax still loves what you once were, and I know that you are suffering from your choices.'

Megatron threw Alpha Trion as if he burned to touch, the ancient mech bounced off the far wall and struggled to gain his balance.

'I will watch Cybertron BURN before I allow Optimus Prime, the Senate pleasure-bot to take control.' Megatron advanced, unsheathing the built in sword he kept for close combat situations.

'It...has burned.' The old mech stood slowly. 'And once you and Optimus are the last Cybertronian's left- once you slay him to sate your anger, then will you be satisfied? Then will you know compromise?'

Then, with a regalness that had been hidden before under his feeble venting and gentle eyes, Alpha Trion squared his shoulders and touched his chest. 'I will pray for you, in the All-Spark, Megatronus. That you will know peace before your offlining.'

Megatron closed in the space between them slowly, savoring Alpha Trion's last moments. He was so focused on his face, that he didn't notice the glowing behind his servo on his chest.

Starscream had watched silently as the two had conversed, but he could see the wavering growth of energy- had even partially expected a mech of Alpha Trion's caliber to carry it. A spark extractor.

'MEGATRON!' he screamed in panic, 'RUN- HE'S-'

Out of pure instinct, Starscream transformed and bolted for the doorway, pushing his fleet engine as hard as he could, panic arching through his spark as it rattled in it's case out of fear. On his heels, he could feel the confused transforming of the panicked Eradicons, and the scream of Megatron's Valkyrie form.

A wave of energy passed over them and Starscream let out a terrified whimper- feeling his spark whirring in panic as his joints locked, the corridor colliding with his frame in a painful crunch.

The fear kept him flying, even after a part of his wing was sheared from his form, and he escaped from the Iacon outpost with a terrified shriek unaware if his Lord was behind him.

oooooooo

End of Chapter 2

Continued A/N:

Thank you everyone for continuing to read and review my work. As I said in the earlier chapter- I'm a total amateur, so feedback is very appreciated and helps me refine my work. I really want to play with the characters and keep them accurate, but also dig a little deeper. If I haven't responded to your review- its because you don't have an account on FFN, but please know that I appreciate all the time you've taken to write one and that I hope you continue to read!

Thanks Again,

**Econtra**


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